Complaint: 17/379

Mitre 10, Television

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Document

COMPLAINT NUMBER 17/379

COMPLAINANT F. Lodge

ADVERTISER Mitre 10

ADVERTISEMENT Mitre 10, Television

DATE OF MEETING 16 October 2017

OUTCOME No Grounds to Proceed

Advertisement: The Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 Mega television advertisement showed two young boys in a sandpit discussing, in the manner of two adults, a weekend construction programme for putting up a retaining wall. One of them addresses Jonesy, a third boy, and asks if he can "Give us a hand on Saturday?", to which Jonesy responds using an Australian accent, "Mate, you're dreamin!" The other two boy comment to each other, "Aussies. No surprises there", and a voiceover says, "DIY It's in our DNA."

The Chair ruled there were no grounds for the complaint to proceed. Complainant, F Lodge, said: Find the ad racist against Australians.

Mitre 10...3 kids playing in sandpit...why does Jonesy have to be singled out as a lazy

Australian. If this person was Maori, Asian or any other race it would certainly have attracted criticism on racial grounds. I feel this is very demeaning to Australians.

The Chair noted the Complainant's concern that the advertisement was potentially racist to

Australians.

In considering the complaint, the Chair referred to a precedent decision, 09/447, which had been ruled no grounds to proceed and said in part;

... "The Chair was of the view that it incorporated a well established satirical theme which played on the spirit of competition between Australia and New Zealand. While she conceded that the advertisement may have been offensive to G. Denney, she said it did not reach the threshold to cause serious or widespread offence in the light of generally prevailing community standards, and there was no apparent breach of the Advertising Codes. "

While the Chair acknowledged the Complainant's argument that the advertisement may not be acceptable if replaced with a nationality other than Australian, she said the continued tradition of reciprocal banter which existed between Australia and New Zealand prevented the advertisement reaching the threshold to breach the Code of Ethics or the Code for People in Advertising.

Chai r' s Ruling: Complaint No Grounds to Proceed

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